Perfectionism - Day 26

Paying attention, on a daily basis, to how often perfectionism appears in my life has been an interesting challenge resulting in some unexpected discoveries ...

• A perfectionist viewpoint is with me all the time, especially in regards to me.  I'm 10 times harder on myself than I am on others.  (A good thing I'm not this hard on others or I would never have any friends!)  This is quite tiring.
• Stopping at 80% was easier than expected for some things and quite challenging for others.  The more important I judged the task, the harder it was to settle for 80%.  
• For the tasks I completed at 80%, doing this saved me time and energy and, most importantly,  it felt very freeing.   
• What surprised me most is that I sometimes experienced a physical response to perfectionism as a burning, heavy sensation in my chest (4th / heart chakra).  If I had to label the emotion related to this sensation it would be disappointment and/or anger. This emotion fits with my Enneatype One perspective.  I'd like to explore this further AS LONG AS I don't set unrealistic standards!  :-)

To wrap up, this was a valuable exercise.  It taught me a lot about myself and gave me hope that I can relax my standards which will not only save me time and energy, but will create a lighter, more joyful experience.